About Me

Dr. Sam Tsang, also affectionately known as "Dr. Sam" to his students, did his two masters in three years at Western Seminary, San Jose, before going to Sheffield, England for his PhD. After a short three-year stint at the University of Sheffield, he is able to publish his revised dissertation From Slaves to Son which will eventually be updated and translated into Chinese and Indonesian.

If someone is to ask Dr. Tsang for one word to describe his life, it would be the word "blessed." After all, not many can live out their life-long dreams. As an athletic enthusiast from an early age, he has achieved elite status in a sport he loves. As a researcher, his current writing projects can probably keep him busy for the rest of his life. In his little time of leisure, he enjoys the company of his wife and two boys whom he sees as God's greatest blessing to his life.

His academic interests include Pauline studies, hermeneutics, Asian-American church culture(s) and diverse areas of biblical studies, as is evident in his publications about both Old and New Testaments. Many have described Dr. Tsang as an "overachiever" but he much prefers to be known as "high achiever." He is especially in his elements when he engages his students in subjects he loves. As a result, he has taught courses varying from many parts of the New Testament to hermeneutical theories to classes on preaching. His many writing projects, both in forms of articles and books, have continued to challenge his thinking and teaching. His outside preaching keeps him sensitive to the needs of churches and society as well. By keeping updated with the global intellectual environment while contextualizing and holding fast the historic faith, he hopes to help the seminary take the lead in bringing progress to the Chinese church. His fluency in Mandarin, Cantonese and English has made him a versatile preacher and teacher not only in Chinese but also non-Chinese speaking circles.

Currently, he is working on writing at least two books per year for Logos Publishers Ltd. in Hong Kong, as well as one more writing project for another publisher. His professional goal has always been to broaden his horizon in research while serving the church in his teaching. To view his research interests, click on the link for publications.

Philosophy of Teaching

According to the authoritative Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, teaching and all its associated words are derived from the verb "to teach." Thus, teaching is an action. As such, teaching involves content, presentation and goal.

In terms of content, I believe that an inordinate amount of time has been devoted to it in many classrooms. However, content is not enough because very often the act of teaching in the ancient and modern times involves not not merely filling up the minds of students with information. Teaching goes much beyond information. Teaching should bring change. The Rabbis used dialogue as the agent of change. Jesus, the Great Teacher, challenged and changed the minds of his students. Content is the first step, but is certainly not the last step to education.

In my classes, the learning process also happens when the students are taught by others who have written books. Thus, the reading assignment is a part of learning. If the student does not read the assignment, he or she cannot expect to understand the topic at hand. The teacher's job is not to repeat what is read in the assignment. Rather, he should seek to build off those assignments and provide a different set of materials so that learning can be multiplied. If the teacher does not keep updated, he cannot give good reading assignments.

Before anything can be absorbed, it must be understood. This brings up the idea of presentation. Before a good presentation can happen, the presenter must organize the material in a coherent manner. Within the preparation stage, the teacher must take the time to translate the most updated scholarship into a clear and simple lesson so that when the time comes, the students will receive the content without much difficulty. This requires the teacher to continue in the vocation of learning. Every good teacher is always a good student first no matter what. The teacher must also seek to understand the students' learning style so that all senses are stimulated in the class room because different students learn differently. As a result of good preparation, the student should experience an intellectual and spiritual change.

One cannot talk about good teaching without talking about goal setting. Goals are the target the teacher seeks to achieve. The teacher should always reflect on the question, "What am I trying to accomplish? How will I get there?" When these two questions are answered and executed successfully, the student will learn. Ultimately, the purpose of teaching is to wrought change.